Archive for April, 2009

Some more tips from our lovely readers in Dublin:
Ken had some good things to say about the new Marco Pierre White restaurant on Dawson St:
Randomly ended up in his new restaurant on Dawson Street last week and thanks to Dine in Dublin week got a 3 course meal, including tea/coffee for under 30 euros: have… Continue reading »

Some good news amongst the never-ending misery: gas prices are set to fall by 12% and electricity prices by 10% from Friday May 1.
Meanwhile, The Irish Times reports that businesses struggling to reduce their costs might be helped by using a new Carbon Management Tool (CMT), available on www.change.ie. The tool enables companies to calculate… Continue reading »

Wandering around town yesterday, I spotted some great value offers in, of all places, Fresh on Camden St:
1/2 kg minced beef – half price at €2.49
Sirloin steaks – 0.68kg – €5.43
On the other hand, I saw some ridiculously bad value, such as a Turkey and Vegetable Plaits at €5.49. Worst of all, however, was an… Continue reading »

I made this delicious Sri Lankan curry for my dinner on Monday and thought it would be a perfect Wednesday Wind-down meal. This recipe, adapted from Madhur Jaffrey’s Ultimate Curry Bible, is a good way of using up those spices that often get shoved to the back of a cupboard after one use. I added… Continue reading »

Red Onion and Garlic Focaccia
Good homemade bread never fails to impress. There is just a freshness that you can’t compare to storebought, plus the the smell of a freshly baked loaf wafting around the house, just can’t be beaten!
Makes 2 focaccia loaves.
750g of strong white flour.
2 teaspoons of salt.
15fl oz of lukewarm water.
1 x 75g sachet of dry yeast.
2 tablespoons of olive oil.
For the topping:
2 tablespoons of olive oil.
4 garlic cloves, very finely minced. Continue reading »

QYPE: KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
Taking a trip soon? Dublin? London? Bordeaux? Anywhere in Europe?
Where to eat? What to do? Then QYPE’s for you – try it at http://www.qype.co.uk/ie021-dublin
Cork people have their favourite pubs in Dublin. But, how about a change? Try Shebeen Chic. Find it at http://www.qype.co.uk/ie021-dublin
Cheap air fares means going to London is like taking the bus. Continue reading »

This is a solidly made South African everyday white at a recession-friendly price and with a charitable ethos. The Quagga Ridge is a mountain slope in the Paarl region. One hundred years ago, it was dotted with herds of wild, three-striped zebra known as quagga. Continue reading »

Following last week’s post on spicy wines, I thought it appropriate to delve a little deeper into one of the world’s most identifiable, if difficult to pronounce, grape varieties.
First things first: correct pronunciation. Guh-voorts-tra-meen-er. (I suspect part of Gewürztraminer’s appeal is just conquering this!)
Around the world, like it’s Alsace soul-mate Riesling, Gewurz is not an easy grape to grow. Continue reading »

Two weeks in and my head is almost bursting with knowledge, most of which can probably not be posted on the internets for fear of copyright so Ill give you some of the very odd bits I have scribbled down for your foodie amusement

Rosemary will only thrive in a house where the woman wears the pants

That white bit of the rhubarb that you always cut off is meant to be the sweetest

Some of the foreign people on our course think that cats are milked in Ireland

Keep an eye on your oven or people will change the temperature and stick something else in

You can make a wish on new potatoes

Darina gets her nails done for the Late Late show

Rhubarb leaves are poisonous to us but not to hens

Alcohol levels in wine are rising which is apparently a factor of global warming! Continue reading »

The other day, when Sofie, Wendy and myself went to Mizen Head, we were also on the lookout for some wild garlic (okay I was). And of course, it is in abundance in West Cork so I grabbed a few bundles. As I didn’t want to use it all in one go, I pureed the leaves, jarred the mousse and topped it with olive oil. The rest I used in the best risotto ever. Continue reading »

HMSHost (they own the food market at the airport) are inviting to a food fair this Friday & Saturday the 1st & 2nd of May outside the Red Bar and Food Court at Cork Airport. The times are 8am to 4pm on both days.The event is a celebration of locally produced foods. It will be launched by Darina Allen on Friday the 1st at 10am.
The Irish Weavers will provide the musical entertainment and there will also be a kids corner with face painting, balloons etc. Continue reading »

In light of the new report issued today on climate change and its affect of agriculture, here’s part one of a feature on climate change and farming.
The simple and objective facts of climate change are straightforward up to a point. The main question from an agriculture perspective is: how should the effort of readjustment be shared out amongst the sectors?
First, the facts: According to Dr. Continue reading »

I had a long but enjoyable day today in West Cork, visiting customers and chasing down a few leads. It’s really a remarkably beautiful part of the country. My first port of call was Barleycove Beach Hotel in Goleen. Under new ownership, it looks like it will be a tasty port of call for anyone travelling the area, with a chef trained in a Michelin starred restaurant and a real commitment to fresh, local ingredients. I can tell you the ice cream ain’t bad, either . Continue reading »

I’d been looking forward to visiting Wild Honey for quite a while. In fact, it was the first restaurant I booked as part of this year’s culinary tour of London. I want to say it was terrific. The problem is that for a Michelin star restaurant experience, it was just okay.
In 2007 I had a fantastic meal at Arbutus, which is Wild Honey’s sister restaurant in Soho, also owned and run by Anthony Demetre and Will Smith (no, not that Will Smith). Continue reading »

The snow was thick on the ground as I sauntered down Chausée d’Ixelles in Brussels, one crisp clear day last January. I stopped in at a familiar convenience store to pick up eight cans of Rodenbach. “These will do for outdoor drinking when it gets warmer” I thought.Today, there’s still a bit of a chill in the air but the sun has been shining warmly all day. Continue reading »

The morning after the day before we actually woke up pretty clear heading considering our alcohol consumption. Our alarms rang only a couple of times before we roused from our respective beds and scampered out the door, croissant in hand. We popped in the co-ordinates of Savigny Les Beaune in our trusty SatNav and ambled slowly out of Beaune. A few minutes later we rocked into Savigny and got a. Continue reading »

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This November The Great Irish Bake is back and Kitchen Hero Donal Skehan is helping out with sharing recipes and promoting the event. The Great Irish Bake is in aid of helping sick and seriously ill children get the treatment they need. Head over to The Great Irish Bake to register online and be in the chance of winning a trip to New York when you help raise funds for Temple Street Children’s University Hospital. The site also has hints, tips, recipes and all that goes with an event like this.

This is the Facebook for The Great Irish Bake and of course the Twitter hashtag is: #thegreatirishbake

The Great Irish Bake organisers have shared a recipe with us and also a picture of Donal Skehan with his kids from his first marriage. Some of this might be a lie.

The Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
2. In a standalone mixture beat together the butter and sugar. Add in the egg and
mix through.
3. Using a wooden spoon mix through the flour, baking powder, salt, mixed spice
and vanilla extract until you have a biscuit dough.
4. Turn the dough out on to a floured surface and roll out to about 1cm in thickness.
5. Cut out biscuit shapes, place on the lined baking tray, then using a smaller cutter
or a small knife cut out the center of each cookie.
6. Sprinkle the crushed sweets into the centre of the cookie and place in the oven
7. Cook in the oven for about 15 minutes.
8. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before transferring to a wire
wrack.

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